7. A warm reunion with nature (1956-1967)

After the interlude of cold abstraction that strengthened his strong formal discipline, Van Lint returns at a lyrical abstraction inspired by the subjective interpretation of the nature. Particularly sensitive to the abundance of the nature (Fall wilderness - Sauvagerie automnale),Strange Vegetation (Etrange végétation), to blinding waves or clouds Children in Oostduinkerke (Enfants à Oostduinkerke), to terrestrial complexion, the painter convenes the essence through compositions of a tachiste, and turbulent present, as washed away by a strong wind.

The sea inspires the artist the most during his many visits to the Belgian coast or in Brittany; he goes to meet it on the wet sand, sniff it, to blend with it or for an emotional look on a clump of seaweeds, shellfish, shimmering pool of water left by the sea on the sand, discovering in all of these shapes, which he captures first, most of the time, in charcoal and then being inspired by them to paint canvases titled for example Marine mirrors (Miroirs marins) or Marine mirage (Mirage marin), a large canvas which was commissioned in 1957 for the Center for Scientific and Nuclear Research, Mol. Other times, Van Lint finds inspiration in the shapes of more mineral nature settings. When, leaving Saint-Josse, he prepares to build a house in Kraainem, he discovered in this green village in the Brussels' periphery, a quarry carved in the hillside. The visible geological strata are inspiring first watercolor drawings and afterwards canvases as Geological section (Coupe géologique), a masterful painting exhibited today in the Ghent Museum. Meanwhile, during many exhibitions in Belgium and abroad, the artist continues to be honored and applauded: an award received from the Guggenheim Foundation in New York and the Grand Prize of the Belgian Critics in Charleroi in 1958, the International Painting Marzotto Prize in Lugano in 1960, the awarding of a work scholarship by the Belgian State in 1961, an exhibition tribute to the Museum of Fine Arts of Verviers in 1962.